Taster

...My plan was to rest the Late Mr. von Straggart flat on the shroud, pack the ice tightly around his body, and roll up the sailcloth to secure its contents.

Isaac looked at me, long and hard. “This ain’t my idea of fun.” There was trepidation in his voice. Touching dead people was something he’d never done, and he didn’t like it. I couldn’t blame him.

“I’ll get you some rubber gloves, Isaac. Would that make it any easier?”

“Yes, m’am, it sure would.”

I drove back to the house and grabbed my kitchen gloves, praying they would fit Isaac’s big hands. I needed Isaac’s help. The gloves better damned-well fit!

Returning to the marina, we followed the plan. First we chipped up the ice blocks into small pieces. Second, we packed the chips firmly around the corpse as we simultaneously wrapped the shroud around it. It was a bigger job than I thought. With the heat of the day, we had to work fast with the ice. Afterwards, Isaac and I were both drenched in sweat, despite the fact that our hands were cold from handling the chipped ice. Lastly, I found some baling twine in Cheap Charlie’s cupboard to secure the shroud at each end. Only then did I stand back to assess our handiwork. What type of barbaric place was this?

....I had given them everything and they were going to kill Peter! From face-down on the tile floor I screamed at them, “There’s no more money! There’s no more money! We don’t have a safe! Geezus, we’re telling you the truth! We don’t keep a lot of money on the cay!”

Now, one of the burglars noticed my rings and gold chain necklace. “OK, bitch, take off da jewels,” he demanded, as the barrel of his gun tap-tap-tapped on my earrings. With my face still facing the floor, I reached up and took off my earrings, a gold necklace and my heirloom engagement ring. I heard Peter unbuckle his watch. Was it going to stop there?